We were very lucky in many ways.
First, the timing was just right. The event pushed through only a few days after New Zealand had its first confirmed COVID19 case. Had the event been scheduled one week later, a lot of the international delegates would not have been able to come because of border restrictions. If it had been two weeks later, the event would have been cancelled because of the restrictions on large gatherings.
Second, I think it is also very fortunate that no one got sick. I guess, at that time, COVID19 had just entered New Zealand and was not yet spreading in the communities. I would imagine that an aikido event, given that aikido is a close contact martial art, would be a hotspot for spreading the virus.
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| Easily 300 people on the mat! © Christian Kleiman / Aikido Shinryukan |
Third, it was the last international event of waka sensei - Moriteru Ueshiba before international border closures and restrictions happened because of COVID19. He is the son of the current doshu (head of aikido). We were very fortunate to train with him! He moves really beautifully.
I want to give credit to the organisers for making sure the event had good health and safety standards. They did a great job in organising the gasshuku.
Here are some photos from the event of me and my mates. All photos in this blog are credit to Christian Kleiman and Aikido Shinryukan. More incredible photos from Christian's website.
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| © Christian Kleiman / Aikido Shinryukan |
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| © Christian Kleiman / Aikido Shinryukan |
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| © Christian Kleiman / Aikido Shinryukan |
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| © Christian Kleiman / Aikido Shinryukan |
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